One day, robot companions
may be a part of every home... but not yet. This little helper may be able to walk and sing and kick a ball, but it would cost as much as a luxury car.
Diseased human cell
Nanorobot
I n th e f u tur e
w e co u
l d be
d riv in g f
lyi n g ca r s !
kph this stands for “kilometres per hour”, a measurement of an object’s speed.
Orbit the path an object takes as it circles a larger body. Man-made satellites orbit Earth.
Paddlewheel huge wheels with paddles that were used to move boats and ships before the invention of the propeller.
Patent a document granted by a country’s government stating that a person is the first to invent something. It protects their rights to that invention.
Propeller a shaft fitted with blades that spins to move a ship or propeller plane.
Radar a way of using radio to detect objects that are not in sight.
Receiver the part of a machine that collects sound or signals.
Antibiotics medicines that work by killing bacteria.
Battery a container that uses chemicals to store electricity.
Electricity a form of energy that is used to provide heat and light, and to power all sorts of machines.
Fuel something that can be burned to give heat, such as petrol for a car engine.
Industrial Revolution a period of rapid change, which began in the 1760s and saw the birth of factories, powered machinery, and an increasing use of iron.
Internal combustion engine a machine inside which fuel burns to create power.
Jet engine an engine that takes in air from outside, heats it up, and pumps it out again to push itself forwards.
Here are the meanings of some words it is useful to know when learning about inventions.
Glossary
Rocket a machine that carries its own fuel and oxygen so that it can propel itself through space.
Silicon a dark grey, hard substance that looks rather like metal but is not a metal. It is used to make silicon chips.
Steam-powered a machine that works because
of the power of steam, produced when water boils.
Technology the methods used to make objects and machines.
Transmitter the part of a machine that sends sound or signals.
Archer, Frederick Scott 33
1813-1857 Wet-plate photography
Babbage, Charles 42 1791-1871 Calculating machines
Baird, John Logie 36 1888-1946 Televisor
Bell, Alexander Graham 30 1847-1922 Telephone
Berliner, Emile 35 1851-1929 Gramophone
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom 13
1806-1859 New uses of iron, including ships and bridges
Carothers, Wallace 27 1896-1937 Nylon
Cartwright, Edmund
10
1743-1823 Steam-powered loom
da Vinci, Leonardo 19 1452-1519 Artist, inventor, and scientist
Daguerre, Louis 32
1787-1851 Daguerreotype
Dyson, James4 1947- Bagless vacuum cleaner
Eastman, George 33 1854-1932 Roll film
Edison, Thomas 4, 29, 31, 35
1847-1931 Edison patented more than 1200 inventions, including the electric light bulb and the phonograph
Faraday, Michael 29 1791-1867 Transformer
Fleming, Alexander39 1881-1955 Penicillin
Franklin, Benjamin 28 1706-1790 Lightning conductor
Goddard, Robert H 20 1882-1945 Liquid-fuelled rocket
Lenoir, Étienne 16 1822-1900 Internal combustion engine
Lister, Joseph 38 1827-1912 Antiseptic
Marconi, Guglielmo34
1874-1937 Radio transmissions
Meggitt, Austin 5 1988- Glove & battie caddie
Meucci, Antonio, 30 1808-1896 Telephone
Montgolfier, Joseph and Etienne 18
1740-1810 (Joseph); 1745-1799 (Etienne) Hot-air balloon
Niépce, Joseph Nicéphore32 1765-1833 First photographic image
Perkins, Jacob 22 1766-1849 Refrigerator
Röntgen, Wilhelm 39
1845-1923 X-rays
Spencer, Percy 22 1894-1970 Microwave oven
Stephenson, George14 1781-1848 The Rocket
Swan, Joseph 4, 29 1828-1914 Electric light bulb
Talbot, William Fox 32 1800-1877 Negative photographic images
Trevithick, Richard14 1771-1833 Steam locomotive
Volta, Alessandro 28 1745-1827 Voltaic pile (the first battery)
Walker, John 9
1781-1859 Matches
Watt, James 10
1736-1819 Improved steam engine
Wright, Wilbur and Orville 18
1867-1912 (Wilbur); 1871-1948 (Orville) First aeroplane
Most of the inventors found in this book are listed here, along with the page number on which they can be found, the dates of their birth and death, and their invention.
Inventors
aeroplanes 18-19 anaesthetic 38 antiseptic 38 audio cassette 35 battery 28 boats 12-13 camera 6, 32-33 canned food 22 car 6, 16-17, 44-45 compact disc 7, 35 Difference Engine 42 electricity 7, 28-29 factory 10-11 fire 6, 8 gas stove 22 Gramophone 34, 35 helicopter 19 hot-air balloon 7, 18 hovercraft 13 Hubble 21
Industrial Revolution 7, 10-11
internal combustion engine 16, 17
Internet 7, 43 iron 11 jeans 24, 25 jet-ski 12, 13 jigsaw puzzle 24, 25 LEGO™ 25 light bulb 4,
6, 29 LPs 35 margarine 22,
23
matches 8, 9 microprocessor
6, 43 mobile phone
7, 31 paper 6, 40 patent 5 pen 41
pencil 41 penicillin 39
personal computer 6, 43 phonograph 7, 34, 35 photograph 7, 32 plastic 26-27 plough 8, 9 printing press 6, 41
radio 34
refrigerator 7, 22 robots 39, 45 ships 6, 13 shoes 9
space shuttle 7, 20, 21 space suit 20, 21 spectacles 24, 25 spinning jenny 7, 10 Sputnik 1 6, 21 steam engine 7, 10, 14 Stephenson’s Rocket 7, 14 telephone 7, 30-31 television 36-37 televisor 6, 36 toaster 23 tools 8
toothbrush 24, 27 trainers 25 trains 14-15 vaccine 38 vacuum cleaner 4 wheel 6, 8, 9
Wright Flyer 5, 18-19 x-ray 6, 39
zip 24, 25
Index
Aibo, a robot dog invented by Sony, Japan
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